Obama-rama wrap-up

I didn’t do that much compared to some of our other reporters (namely Chris Kaergard who was the pool reporter for the day.) If you don’t know what a pool reporter is, here is an explanation. Pool reporting is what the White House and other big governmental bodies do when they are a high ticket item but there isn’t room. Chris was on the bus or rather in a van and filed several short stories throughout the day which was then put out by the White House as the “official press reports.” Other news organizations can use that if they want in lieu of having a person there.

That didn’t really happen at the Guard base. Rather, at the Guard base, it was yours truly and about 20 other TV/photo/cable types sitting in a room for a few hours waiting. I honestly felt like I had joined the military for a day. We had to hurry to get out there. Hurry to get screened and then sat and waited. But it was fun as it was mostly local press and we sort of enjoyed ourselves.

Here are some of the tidbits that probably didn’t make the stories or the national news:

1. I did get a Secret Service agent to smile which for those who have tried, is hard. I had offered him a cookie and he declined, politely. Later, I offered up a granola bar. By then, he had gotten rid of his tie (causal Wednesday?) and just had this look like ‘dude, leave me alone.’ But I did get a smile out of him.

2. The CNN crew was forced to watch FOX news at the Guard base which I thought was kinda funny. They were sitting there as the anchors and the commentators were taking pot-shots at Obama and other MSM. Even the White House press lady was kinda bemused by the whole thing.

3. The Air National Guard people were terrific. Sure, they are local and sure, they really didn’t have much to do other than baby-sit us but they brought in some coffee for us media types and just kind of hung out. Again, we were all stuck there waiting for Obama who was an hour late. The good vibes made the day go fine.

4. There were sharpshooters all over the place at the Guard base. And I am not saying the Guard security forces. Secret Service guys were up on platforms with what looked like .50-caliber sniper rifles. I tried to get a picture but it was too far away and the light wasn’t good.

5. There were far fewer people out this time than in 2009. I don’t know why but in 2009, the Guard had about 150 to 200 people. This time, it was half that and while the group seemed thrilled to have the Prez at their home base, it wasn’t as big or as enthusiastic as it was last time.

I’ll try to post some pictures later.

Author: Andy Kravetz

Andy Kravetz has spent most of the past 16 years covering the area's legal system as well as the military. in that time, he's crawled in the mud, flown in transport planes, and written about a man prosecuted for terrorism. This blog will reflect all those interests and then some.
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